\t\t\t\t\tJustin Pichetrungsi and Awkwafina at the 2024 Disney Emmys afterparty catered by Anajak<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAndrew C Phan<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tBut while I was at Disney, I noticed how hard my parents were having it at the restaurant. They were also getting older, and I felt the sense of the mortality of Anajak itself. It was a rough time, especially after the 2008 recession, which was brutal. When I took over in 2019 \u2014 the year before the pandemic \u2014 there was $4,000 in the business\u2019 bank account. Some bills were not getting paid so that other bills could get paid. You\u2019d just rotate. It was hard.<\/p>\n \n\tBut as time went on, my passion really grew. I was inspired by the whole operation there. I felt a duty to help them. While still at Disney, I\u2019d work the floor at the restaurant and cook in the kitchen. Eventually, I remade the wine list, which had been small and pretty shitty. That was my small entrance point. I\u2019ve since told my old Disney bosses that I used to leave early to do these trade tastings across town, to try to build out that wine list. I was also printing menus on the company dime. They\u2019ve got very nice printers at Disney!<\/p>\n \n\tSince I\u2019ve been at Anajak, we\u2019ve had a lot of Disney people in. Ken Potrock, the longtime head of Disneyland, came by a little while ago. Looking back, what I took most from the company is the skill of creative management. It\u2019s the hardest thing to do, whether you\u2019re directing someone to paint something or to plate something.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tAnajak Thai\u2019s omakase. The restaurant also is famous for its Southern Thai fried chicken.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCarter Hiyama<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tRecently we did the Emmys afterparty for Disney and The Bear<\/em>. That show is a mirror to my place. I have a Tina on my team. I have a Marcus on my team. I have a Sydney on my team. I told Liza Col\u00f3n-Zayas and Lionel Boyce and Ayo Edebiri that. For many people, The\u202fBear <\/em>is PTSD, but for me it\u2019s cathartic and validating.<\/p>\n \n\tNow, my goal for myself \u2014 if I were to put something in an envelope and mail it to my future self again \u2014 is to pitch Disney on an animated story based on my experience. I have some pitch illustrations. No lightsaber, no sword in the stone, but when I came back here to Anajak, I found my father\u2019s sushi knife from decades ago, rusted and pitted, and I shaved it down and restored it. There\u2019s an allegory there. \u2014 As told to G.B.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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